Karen Francoeur of Haywood County earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for creating an outdoor music wall for kids for her community service project that teaches leadership and creates sustainable change.
This project addressed access to early music education and the lack of understanding of how it affects development. Karen partnered with Canton Central United Methodist Church to design and install an outdoor music wall in the preschool play area that exposes kids to different sounds with different materials like PVC pipes, metal pipes, muffin tins and outdoor drums that let them explore different forms of percussive music.
“The town playground in my community was wiped out due to a flood from Tropical Storm Fred and devastated the town of Canton and surrounding areas. Even before it was destroyed, the playground did not have any musical inclusion, and it needed to be updated,” said Francoeur, a Girl Scout of nine years. “I wanted to be able to provide a place for kids in our community to play and to be able to have access to musical creativity spaces. Having early music access increases cognitive development, as well as aiding in the development of social, emotional, creative, and motor skills.”
Girls in high school can earn their Gold Award by creating sustainable change on a community or world issue. They address the root cause of a problem, plan and implement innovative solutions to drive change and lead a team of people to success. Each girl must dedicate a minimum of 80 hours to planning and carrying out her project that benefits the community and has a long-lasting impact. Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they are the leaders our community and world need, and those from the GSCP2P council have created community gardens, addressed issues in foster care, combated bullying in schools and so much more.
Karen said, “I learned that my love of music is even greater than I thought and that I really like to come up with new solutions for problems. I learned how to be more confident in my choices, and I learned that really enjoy completing projects that help others.”
Thousands of Girl Scouts across the country earn the Girl Scout Gold Award each year, which first began in 1916 as the Golden Eaglet. Earning the Gold Award opens doors to scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college and amazing career opportunities. In 2024, 40 GSCP2P Girl Scouts earned their Gold Award.
To learn more about earning a Girl Scout Gold Award, visit https://www.girlscoutsp2p.org/en/members/for-girl-scouts/badges-journeys-awards/highest-awards/gold-award.html.
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